Valve stem handle



y 1937- J. NEWMARK Re. 20,445

VALVE STEM HANDLE Original Filed March 14, 1935 IN VENTOR.

- JOSEPH NEWMARK ATTORNEY.

Reissued July 13, 1937.

UNITED STATES VALVE STEM HANDLE Joseph Newmark, Jamaica, N. Y., assignor to Die Casting Corporation of America, Elmhurst, N. Y., a corporation of New York l Original No. 2,043,418, dated June 9, 1936, Serial No. 11,055, March 14, 1935. Application for reissue March 22, 1937, Serial No. 132,347 a Claims. (01. 287-53) This invention relates to valve stem handles and has for one of its objects the provision of such a handle that may easily be assembled and disassembled from the valve stem with which it is 5 to be used.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a firm gripping connection between the stem and handle. I v

A further object of the invention is to provide a handle of this character which is adapted to be used with various sizes of valve stems.

A still further object of the inventon is to provide such a handle having an inner split bushing, the said bushing being provided with a pair of diilerent sized threaded tapering coaxial openings for the reception of various sizes of valve stems, the said bushing forming a thread cutting die for the end of the valve stems.

Another object is to produce adevice of the m character described in which the maximum simplicity of construction and operation is secured.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the nature of the improvements is better understood, the invention consisti'ng substantially in 25 the novel arrangement and co-relation of parts herein fully described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein similar reference characters are used 'to describe corresponding parts. throughout the several views, and then 3 finally pointed out and specifically defined and indicated in the appended claims.

The disclosure made the basis of exemplifying the present inventive concept suggests a practical embodiment thereof, but the invention is not to 35 be restricted to the exact details of this disclosure and the latter, therefore, is to be understood from 1 an illustrative, rather than a restrictive standpoint.

The inventive idea involved'is capable of re- 4o'ceiving a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which, for the purpose of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a fragmental view in side elevation of a water faucet showing my improved handle 45 as applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a fragmental sectional view of the handle.

Figure 3 is a'sectional view taken oh'line 3 3,

Figure 2, and 50 Figure 4 is a perspective view of the handle adapter.

Referring now to the drawing in detail 5 inditending from a hub 8 having a central opening therein that is preferably hexagonal in configuration, and nested in the opening in the form as shown is a hexagonal bushing or adapter ill. The bushing is provided with a longitudinal bore 5 therethrough, which bore is designated by the reference numerals II and [2. The bore, which is threaded throughout its length, tapers inwardly from each end thereof. In other words, the bore has its smallest diameter substantially at its 10 center and its larger diameters at its terminals, the portion l2 thereof having a larger diameter than the portion H, which portion l2 being capable of receiving stems of greater diameter than the portion ll. By this construction, the handle 15 can be used on valve stemsof various sizes.

In practice, a valve stem below a certain diam- -eter is inserted into the bushing through the smaller tapered portion H and those above are inserted through the larger portion 12.

The bushing II) is longitudinally split by a slot l5, thereby forming a plurality of cutting edges, l6, which edges are similar to the edges of a die for external thread cutting. Thus, as the bushing with the tapered, threaded bore il-l2 is screwed onto the unthreaded valve stem, the cutting edges formed by the opening cut the threads thereon, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby insuring a firm gripping connection between the stem and adapter.- It will be understood that due to the split l5, the adapter I0 will slightly expand and beartightly against the walls of the hexagonal r opening Sin the hub 8 when a valve stem is inserted therein.

A set screw I1 ,is threadedly maintained in the 5 hub B and passes through an enlarged portion ofthe slot which constitutes a clearance opening l8 in the adapter Ill and is screwed against the surface of the valve stem 6 to further insure a firm contact between the handle and stem. The 40 setscrew I! also prevents the adapter from'falling out of the hub 8.

While I have shown and described the opening in the hills 8 and the adapter as hexagonal in cross section,.I do not restrict myself to this shape as anyother angula'rly shaped opening and adapter may just as readily be used to avoid relative rotationbetween the adapter and hub. I may if desirable use a circular hole and adapter and key same to the hub and in this way prevent rotation between the handle and adapter, The angular sided opening and adapter not only prevent relative rotation between the said parts but acts as means for aligning the clearance opening IS in the adapter with the threaded screw openlatter being expanded by the stem to be frictioning in the hub to permit of the ready assembling of the various parts.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a handle that may be firmly and readily attached to unthreaded valve stems that extend from either water, gas, air or steam valves.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A handle having a hub portion adapted to be applied to valve stems, a longitudinally split bushing removably positioned within said hub portion, said bushing having a bore extending therethrough and tapering inwardly from the outer ends thereof, said bore being of a larger diameter at one end than at the other to receive stems of various sizes and being threaded whereby an unthreaded stem will be automatically threaded as it is inserted in the bushing and the latter being expanded by the stem to be frictionally held within the hub portion.

2.,A handle having a hub portion adapted to be applied to valve stems, a longitudinally split bushing removably positioned within said hub portion, said bushing having a bore extending therethrough and tapering inwardly from the outer ends thereof, said bore being of a larger diameter at one end than at the other to receive stems of various sizes and being threaded whereby an unthreaded stem will be automatically threaded as it is inserted in the bushing and the ally held within the hub portion, and auxiliary means for locking said bushing to the stem.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a handle adapted to be applied to a valve stem, said handle being provided with a hub portion having a non-circular longitudinal opening therein, and a bushing having an exterior surface shaped to fit said opening and being removably positioned therein, the bushing having a threaded, longitudinal bore therein,- the bore having its smallest diameter substantially midway between the ends thereof and becoming increasingly larger as it approaches each terminal thereof, the diameter of one of such terminal portions of the bore being larger than the other of such terminal portions, the bushing having an opening in the side walls thereof forming cutting edges for the threads of the bore, whereby, when the bushing is applied to an unthreaded valve stem a thread will be cut upon said stem.

4. A handle adapted to be applied to an unthreaded valve stem, the handle being provided with a hub portion having an opening therein, a bushing being positioned within said opening, the bushing having a threaded longitudinal bore therein, the bore having its smallest diameter substantially midway between the ends thereof and tapering outwardly at each end thereof, the bushing having an opening in the side walls thereof forming cutting edges for the threads in the bore, and a set screw in the side walls of the hub portion adapted to pass through the opening in the bushing and engage the valve stem positioned therein. a

5. A handle adapted to be applied to a valve stem, the handle being provided with a hub portion having a non-circular longitudinal'opening therein, a bushing being removably positioned within said opening, the external surface of the bushing being shaped to fit the opening in the hub portion, the bushing ,having a threaded longitudinal bore therein, the bore being tapered through substantially its entire length, the bushing having an opening in the side walls thereof forming cutting edges for the threads in the bore, the hub portion having a threaded opening in the side walls thereof and a set screw positioned in said threaded opening and adapted to secure the bushing within the hub portion.

JOSEPH NEWMARK. 

